Portobello CEO heads up FM Excellence Awards Judging Team

Rebekah Lyons, CEO of the Portobello Institute in Dublin, will head up the judging team for this year’s BIFM Ireland Region Facilities Management Excellence Awards, which is now open for entry. These awards are aimed at recognising and rewarding those who have made significant contributions to the development of the facilities management (FM) sector across Ireland.  

This year’s award categories include FM Professional of the Year, FM Team of the Year and FM Project of the Year. An external panel of judges has been appointed and Rebekah will be joined by other FM industry and academic experts from across the UK and Ireland. The panel will include: Professor Heaney, Professor of the Built Environment at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown; Liz Kentish, The FM Coach; and Ernie Spence, Secretary, NI Safety Group (2012 Winner of the title of FM Organisation of the Year).

Lyons said: “It is an honour to be selected to chair this panel. The profile and quality of facilities management is increasing year on year. The industry and the people delivering the services within the sector rightly deserve the recognition these awards bestow.”  

With these awards, the BIFM Ireland Region Committee are looking for individuals and organisations that have excelled and delivered above and beyond the call of duty, to put themselves forward and fly the flag of industry success.

Organisations and individuals from the public, private and voluntary sectors are encouraged to enter the awards which will ensure they are officially recognised for the excellent work that they are doing and the benchmark they are setting for the industry.

Speaking about the awards, Stephen Welch, Chair of the BIFM Ireland Region said: “Last year the standard of entries was very impressive and we hope to see even more entries for this year’s awards, reflecting the outstanding quality of execution within this field.

“Over the last few years, the Irish FM industry has witnessed several international and home-grown companies enter the market; the appointment of more internal FMs than ever before; and the increased interest in FM as a career choice.

“This is also a significant year for BIFM as it celebrates 20 years of representing and promoting the interests of members and the wider FM community,” adds Stephen.

Visit www.bifm.org.uk/irelandawards <http://www.bifm.org.uk/irelandawards> for more information. Deadline for entries is 11 October 2013, with winners announced at the 17th annual BIFM Ireland Region Conference at the Belfast Waterfront on 15 November 2013.